A Place of Hope: Children's Advocacy Center with Kara Shrum

What would it mean for a child to tell the hardest story of their life just once, and then be surrounded by people working together to help them heal?

That's the work happening every day at Children's Advocacy Center of Collin County. Kara Shrum is the Senior Donor Relations Manager there, and she's spent most of the last decade connecting donors, corporate partners, and volunteers to a mission she describes simply: safety, healing, and justice for children and families affected by abuse and neglect.

The Center traces back to the 1980s, when a district attorney in Alabama realized children were being asked to retell their abuse to police, then to caseworkers, then to therapists, over and over again. The Junior League of Plano brought that idea to Collin County, and in 1992 the Center opened with a staff of three and the capacity to serve about 10 percent of the children who needed it.

Today, law enforcement, Child Protective Services, forensic interviewers, family advocates, and therapists all work under one roof. More than 200 professionals make it possible, including 66 on the Center's own staff, across two campuses in Plano and McKinney. A child tells their story once, in a single forensic interview conducted without a single leading question, and that interview becomes the foundation for everything that follows.

And the need keeps growing. Last year the Center served more than 4,600 children and family members, a 3 percent increase over the year before, with a 6 percent increase in services. Every one of those services, including therapy and counseling for life, is free to the families who need it.

In this episode of Nonprofit Nook, Kara joins Wendy to share how the Center's model works, why its leaders built the McKinney campus before Collin County's growth caught up with them, and the many ways the community can help kids and families heal.

Underneath the numbers, this is a conversation about hope. Kara is honest about how dark this work can be, and just as clear that abuse doesn't get the final word when a community shows up for kids.

If you lead, volunteer with, support, or dream of starting a nonprofit, this conversation is a reminder that the right structure, the right partners, and the right people can change the entire direction of a life.

In This Episode

You'll hear Wendy and Kara talk about:

How the Children's Advocacy Center model lets a child tell their story once instead of over and over
What happens from the moment a child walks in, from the activity center to the forensic interview to the teddy bear room
Why family advocacy and free, lifelong therapy matter as much as the interview itself
How a Junior League initiative grew from three staff members into two campuses serving more than 4,600 people a year
Why the Center's leadership planned for Collin County's growth a decade ahead
What Kara loves about development work and the "puzzle pieces" of connecting the right people and resources
Practical ways to help, from volunteering and in-kind drives to the Holiday Shop, the Rainbow Room, and adopting a family
Why every adult in Texas is a mandated reporter, and why prevention starts with difficult conversations

Resources + Links

Connect with Children's Advocacy Center of Collin County

Website

https://www.caccollincounty.org

34th Annual Teddy Bear Ride (October 25, 2026)

https://www.caccollincounty.org/tbr/

Upcoming Events and Ways to Give

https://www.caccollincounty.org/events/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/childrensadvocacycenter

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/caccollincounty/